Review of national and county rarities in Suffolk in 2019: Craig Fulcher

Craig Fulcher

JANUARY

The year started off quietly with some lingering birds from 2018 with the Rose-coloured Starling in Kesgrave until 11th and Rough-legged Buzzards on January 7th in the Waveney Forest area and at Minsmere and Orfordness, the latter until April 13th.

The first new bird of the year was a drake Green-winged Teal discovered on Dunwich shore pools on 4th that stayed until 7th and another Rough-legged Buzzard was seen over Reydon Smear on 17th. On 19th a smart Siberian Chiffchaff was found along Belstead Brook in Ipswich and proved popular during its stay until 30th. Finally, an adult Black Brant was on Falkenham Marshes with the Dark-bellied Brent flock from 20th until the end of February. An unexpected mid-winter record was that of a Yellow-browed Warbler trapped at Burgh Castle on 6th.

FEBRUARY

On 2nd an Iceland-type gull was in the roost at Lackford SWT. It transpired that this was the bird seen previously in Thetford and was being mooted as a Kumlien’s Gull. Initially it was accepted as such but doubts have been aired and opinions split amongst gull experts who have been consulted. Accordingly, it was considered that such a borderline bird could not be safely identified as a Kumlien’s so, at the time of writing, SORC has decided to publish the bird as an Iceland Gull showing characteristics of Kumlien’s Gull. The bird would be seen several times over the next few weeks in the roosts at Lackford and Mickle Mere.

Also, on 2nd the Rough-legged Buzzard in the Reydon area was seen again, this time flying up the Blyth Estuary towards Tinker’s Marshes. Black-throated Divers were seen at Minsmere on 6th and on the Orwell / Alton Water from 17th until 25th. To round off the month, another Greenwinged Teal, this one on Herringfleet Marshes, from 26th until the end of April.

Suffolk’s earliest-ever Swallow was at Sudbourne on 17th.

MARCH

It was a quiet start to the month and the first bird of note was a Greenland White-fronted Goose that was seen at Carlton and Oulton Marshes on 21st and 23rd respectively. However, there was quite a surprise in the nets at Landguard on 23rd when they caught a Red-flanked Bluetail. This is the first spring record for Suffolk and continues an increasing national trend of spring arrivals of this once-mythical bird.

Also, on 23rd a White-tailed Eagle was seen over Carlton Marshes; this is fast becoming an expected spring occurrence as birds wander from the booming population in Holland and the reintroduction programme on the Isle of Wight. On 26th Suffolk birders had the rare opportunity to listen to a singing Siberian Chiffchaff on 26th when one was found at Leathes Ham in Lowestoft; it stayed until April 6th. Lastly, a Rough-legged Buzzard was seen at Minsmere, also on 26th.

APRIL

The first BBRC rarity of the year was a presumed returning Savi’s Warbler at Minsmere on 2nd, Suffolk’s earliest-ever record; a second bird arrived at Minsmere on 23rd in what turned out to be a good spring for the species. A smart male White-spotted Bluethroat was at Herringfleet Marshes on 6th and 7th, a typical early-spring date for this species.

On 11th a White-tailed Eagle made an appearance being tracked north from the Blyth Estuary to Oulton Broad via Reydon and Covehithe. Havergate Island played host to an immaculate male Kentish Plover on 16th; this species has become an increasingly scarce visitor nowadays, so much so that it has been added on to the BBRC list of national rarities as from January 1st 2020.

A Black Kite was over Westleton Heath on 19th and, on the same day, there was another notable raptor sighting with a young Goshawk seen at Upper Hollesley Common. Any sighting of this species away from its regular sites in the west of the county is rare, but this was even more interesting as the bird bore a blue ring which, although it couldn’t be read fully from photographs, was almost certainly from a ringing scheme in the Brecks. A White Stork flew south-west over Ipswich Hospital on 21st; the exact origins of many of these birds are often doubtful given the number of free-flying escapees in East Anglia; a reintroduction scheme at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex will only muddy the waters even further.

Suffolk’s second-ever Iberian Chiffchaff made itself popular by turning up in Lowestoft on the Bank Holiday Monday, 22nd; the bird showed well for most of the day before disappearing mid-afternoon. Continuing the Iberian theme, on 22nd a Black Kite went south over Felixstowe Ferry and a Black-winged Stilt flew south over Westleton Heath before joining up with another at Minsmere and staying until 24th.

A mobile and elusive Tawny Pipit was at Southwold on the morning of 26th before flying off west. The same day also yielded a Red-rumped Swallow at Minsmere and a Dotterel on the Alde Estuary. An Alpine Swift was tracked south down the north-east Norfolk coast on 27th and was seen in Suffolk airspace at Corton and Lowestoft before disappearing - despite observers waiting for it further down the coast. Also, on 26th a very obliging, and therefore very popular, male Red-footed Falcon was found at Woodbridge Airfield and attracted a stream of admirers until May 6th.

There was a singing Yellowbrowed Warbler at Gunton on April 23rd – Suffolk’s first spring record.

The month ended with another White-tailed Eagle in the north of the county on 30th with a bird seen over Carlton Marshes and Covehithe; it roosted at the latter site and was seen heading north-east out to sea the following morning.

MAY

May is one of the most eagerly anticipated months of the year with the prospect of rarities and scarcities turning up if we get the right weather conditions. The 2nd saw the month off to a good start with two Red-rumped Swallows over the rugby pitch at Southwold before departing as quickly as they appeared, as is often the way with this species. The same applied to the Common Rosefinch, also at Southwold, on the morning of 5th, singing in gardens at Gun Hill but unfortunately it soon moved off inland.

A male Subalpine Warbler was trapped and ringed on Orfordness on 7th; DNA analysis would later prove this bird to be a Western Subalpine Warbler. The Suffolk Serin hotspot of Landguard continued its recent good run of this species with one on 9th. Another Savi’s Warbler was found, this time at the increasingly-impressive Carlton Marshes SWT reserve with a reeling bird there from June 11th to 29th.

Southwold continued its good spring with a cracking male Eastern Stonechat on the evening of 14th on the North Marshes. The bird was submitted as a Siberian (maurus) but subsequently accepted as a Siberian/Stejneger’s in the absence of DNA and given BBRC’s current assessment criteria for this species pair.

The last Savi’s of the spring was a one-day bird at Trimley Marshes on 16th, the fourth of the year. May 2019 saw a large number (by recent standards) of Red-spotted Bluethroats in the Northern Isles and north-east England, and Suffolk didn’t miss out on all the action when a female was found at Landguard on 20th. The following day a Dotterel was discovered late evening on the beach at Kessingland and was still present the next day.

A rather unexpected find on 22nd was a drake Ring-necked Duck at Livermere Lake. Interestingly this bird was the same individual that had been ringed at Abberton Reservoir in Essex and had been seen there, and Bowers Marsh near Basildon in Essex, before its trip to Suffolk where it stayed for six days. A Golden Oriole was singing at Minsmere from 24th to 28th and a female Montagu’s Harrier was seen at Trimley Marshes on 27th before heading off over Felixstowe Docks. A showy Hoopoe is always popular, so the bird at Aldringham Walks on 31st drew many admirers during its one-day stay.

However, the month ended with a very bittersweet moment for Suffolk birders with the discovery of an initially unidentified bunting at Minsmere on 31st. The bird was found in the dunes behind East Hide in late morning and was originally thought to be an Ortolan but went to ground and could not be relocated. That was until a RSPB resident volunteer found it again in the evening in the dunes by the Sluice Bushes. He got some very good photos which were posted online and the debate over its identity went on late into the night before it was realised that the bird was actually a female Cretzschmar’s Bunting. Not only is this a county first but also the first record for England and the British mainland so would have been a huge draw for birders near and far. Unfortunately, the bird could not be relocated the next day leaving everyone thinking of what might have been.

JUNE

Well, June 1st started with all the visiting birders dipping the Cretzschmar’s Bunting at Minsmere, although the early birders did have some consolation with a Broad-billed Sandpiper that flew in off the sea onto the south levels. It only stayed for a couple of hours before flying high south. Remarkably, it was relocated later that morning on the river next to Hollesley Marshes before finally settling at Orfordness and the nearby estuary for the next two days.

A female Montagu’s Harrier was found at King’s Fleet on the Deben Estuary on 4th where it would linger for a couple of days before also venturing to Orfordness and Havergate Island later

in the month. Early June is prime time for Marsh Warblers so two individuals, one at Oulton Marshes on 5th and the other at Fisher Row on 6th were right on cue. A singing Greenish Warbler was a great find in a park in Lowestoft on 7th and from 9th a female Woodchat Shrike was very showy for two days at Kessingland.

A quiet couple of weeks followed before a brief Hoopoe at Landguard on 23rd got things underway again. Landguard Bird Observatory featured the following day too with two European Bee-eaters south over the compound mid-morning and on 26th a Siberian Chiffchaff was trapped there which was later confirmed by DNA.

The first Honey-Buzzard of the year was seen over Westleton Heath on 26th and the month ended strongly on 29th with two Bee-eaters flying south over Walberswick Common and then Aldeburgh Marshes and a stunning White-winged Black Tern on the Scrape at Minsmere on 30th stayed until the next day.

JULY

July can be quiet but from mid-month we can start to look forward to wader passage picking up, and this was certainly the case when a Marsh Sandpiper was found on the Scrape at Minsmere on 10th, staying until the following day. Also at Minsmere, a Purple Heron was found on 15th but was typically elusive during its six-day-stay.

The wader theme continued on 18th when a Pacific Golden Plover was found on the marshes by the South Wall at Breydon; this bird would stay until 22nd. Amazingly a second Pacific Golden Plover was briefly at Hollesley Marshes on 19th before flying north. There was an unprecedented arrival of Wood Sandpipers in late July including 33 at Minsmere on 28th.

The month ended with two more Honey Buzzards with birds at Brandon on 21st and Dunwich on 25th.

AUGUST

This year August was a quiet month and we had to wait for a scarce bird until 13th when a Serin flew south over Landguard. Late summer is a prime time for Ferruginous Duck and Minsmere is the county hotspot so a fine drake there behind South Hide from 20th to 22nd wasn’t a huge surprise. Lastly, the years only Balearic Shearwater was seen to fly north close inshore off Landguard early morning of 23rd.

SEPTEMBER

The year’s only Red-necked Phalarope was a smart juvenile on the Scrape at Minsmere on 8th. The same day saw a juvenile Sabine’s Gull on Havergate Island for a couple of hours late morning before it flew off north.

Friday 13th wasn’t unlucky for one observer who had the good fortune to find a juvenile Red-footed Falcon over Landguard mid-morning before it drifted away. On 20th the first Barred Warbler of the autumn was trapped and ringed on Orfordness. The county’s second European Storm Petrel since 2008 went north off Landguard also on 20th and at the same site a first-winter Red-breasted Flycatcher was trapped and ringed on 22nd.

OCTOBER

The month got underway with a firm birders’ favourite in the shape of a Pallas’s Warbler in the Sluice Bushes at Minsmere on 5th, the earliest-ever record in Suffolk of this Siberian sprite. The second Red-breasted Flycatcher of the year was at Sizewell Hall on 7th and on 12th an oftenshowy Barred Warbler was found at Southwold which lingered until 17th.

An unexpected addition to the county list occurred on 13th when a Two-barred Greenish Warbler was discovered at Orford quay carpark. This bird is only the eighth record for Britain but, unfortunately, it was a relatively brief stay and had gone by early afternoon leaving many birders disappointed especially those who had travelled from across the country. The same site also played host to a Siberian Chiffchaff on 20th.

October 29th saw a late Radde’s Warbler found by the golf club at Southwold at lunchtime and it showed on-and-off until dusk. On 30th a Black-throated Diver was on the Stour Estuary and the month ended on 31st in fine style with six delightful Northern Long-tailed Tits for a few hours at East Lane, Bawdsey.

NOVEMBER

A Pallas’s Warbler was in Lowestoft on 1st and a Hoopoe at nearby Burgh Castle and then Bradwell from 3rd to 5th. On 7th, Suffolk’s first Eastern Yellow Wagtail was found by RSPB staff working in the reedbeds at Corporation Marshes, Dunwich. The same bird had been seen very briefly on October 25th but had, frustratingly, disappeared without trace. Its ID was not confirmed until November 7th when a sound recording was obtained and scrutiny of the sonogram revealed it to be a match for the subspecies of plexa / tschutschensis. During its stay until 19th it was often associating with a Western Yellow Wagtail which may have been of an eastern race, but, as we know, these things are far from straightforward at the best of times. The bird was popular with birders from far and wide as it gave people the opportunity to catch up with this recently-split species. A Penduline Tit was a brief visitor behind West Hide at Minsmere for a couple of hours in the afternoon, also on 7th.

In recent years November has started to become the new October with late easterly winds giving hope of vagrants from far afield well into the month. One such species is Hume’s Leaf Warbler and ideal conditions saw the unprecedented arrival of three birds on 9th at Felixstowe, Dunwich and Lowestoft. Also, on 9th a Pallas’s Warbler was trapped at Kessingland sewage works lingering until the next day.

A Dusky Warbler was a fantastic catch at a ringing site in an observer’s garden in Hollesley on 10th and, even more incredibly, it was caught again on 13th. A Rough-legged Buzzard, presumably newly-arrived, was watched over Westwood Marshes, Walberswick NNR by birders watching the Eastern Yellow Wagtail on 10th.

Amazingly on Havergate Island the county’s second-ever Eastern Yellow Wagtail was found on 12th and, once again, sound recordings put it in the same subspecies pair as the Dunwich bird; this bird lingered into February 2020. The next day a Penduline Tit was trapped and ringed on nearby Orfordness.

On 23rd an adult Black Brant was back at Falkenham on the Deben Estuary with the Brent Goose flock with which it remained until at least December 22nd.

The month ended as it started with Pallas’s Warblers at Kessingland sewage works on 25th and Minsmere, 26th and 27th. Lastly for November, a juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard arrived at Bawdsey Marshes on 27th and would delight birders well into 2020.

DECEMBER

A Siberian Stonechat on 1st got the month off to a great start when it was found at Hollesley Marshes. Some ingenuity by the warden meant DNA could be collected from some strategically placed perches and its identity was confirmed as a Siberian (maurus) making it only the third confirmed Siberian Stonechat for Suffolk. It stayed into early 2020 and proved popular with birders from around the country as they had an opportunity to observe one of the first DNAconfirmed Siberians since the recent split from Stejneger’s Stonechat.

After the initial excitement of the Siberian Stonechat it was a relatively quiet end to the year with a couple of Black-throated Divers on the Orwell Estuary, 16th and 17th and, away from the coast and estuaries, at Suffolk Water Park, Bramford from 29th until early March 2020.

The year ended with an unexpected Little Bunting trapped on 31st at a farmland ringing-site at Wrentham.